Beep Beep

Strength in Fall

Well… THOSE people didn’t show today, but I still pulled a strong chest workout. I can’t wait until tomorrow because it’s deadz day!!! I usually do them on Saturdays, but have missed the last two intentionally to save energy for a major project at work. Call it a personal sacrifice of sorts to help my team. I’m ready to kill it during my long holiday in the gym tomorrow. It was nice to head up to the mountains after the gym today. The aspens are turning and it was beautiful. Santa Fe is such a gorgeous place.

Stormy

•Stormy Sky~ Santa Fe, New Mexico • Photo by Felicia•

Wind blew out the
warmth of light.
This storm rushing
to break free.
Sorrow and one
icy breath before
the first drop
broke for me.
A cold, dark storm
and gusty glares
with rain sent to
perish on dry land.
Silence in electric
clouds… way more
than just one heart
can stand.

by Felicia Lujan
4.15.15

Tangled Hair and Gritty Teeth

I love the smell of fresh dirt. The wind whips through my long ponytail. My blonde, tangled locks seem misplaced against the vibrant New Mexican sky. Blue sky, red Earth, the great wide open, barren plateaus, dancing Cholla, and stories of those who came before, give me reasons to adore this place. This is the place that I call my own. I was born and raised in a place which embodies the beauty of dirt.

•Diablo Canyon in Santa Fe, New Mexico•

If you didn’t know, 4-wheeling in not the Land of Enchantment, but this enchanted land is special. Those wheels afford you an unsoiled, yet soiled glimpse through natures looking glass. The ghosts of Diablo Canyon cast hazy red shadows when the sun sets. Then there are the stories. Today the canyon is used by thrill seekers to evoke hellish feelings. The jump is far. The climb is steep. These thrills aren’t for the weak.

Our ride on Sunday through Caja del Rio, past Diablo Canyon, to the Rio Grande River was beautiful. How quickly we forget the childhood feelings tied to our land and nature. When I was a young girl, I spent all my time on a 3-wheeler. My brother, sister and I explored together. Looking back, we learned together. While my brother and I sat along the bank of the Rio Grande on Sunday, we talked about those priceless days. (Read: Eat My Dust)

•Rio Grande River off Old Buckman Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico•

There is nothing like the smell of fresh dirt. I would never replace the feel of grit in teeth. The simplest of things can confirm you are home. I don’t mind when the New Mexico wind whips through my hair. It makes me feel alive. I was born and raised in a place which embodies the beauty of dirty skin and sacred land. It is here where I shall remain.

Snowy Day Breakfast

Like most of the states in the U.S., New Mexico is being pummeled with snow right now. It was a rather scary drive home from the fitness center last night. It is still snowing a bit here in Santa Fe. This morning I snapped some photos of these beautifully laced Pine trees. It is cold. I love that snow has a way of cloaking things in a mysterious way.

I warmed up the kitchen for breakfast by cooking some good eats. I made a quinoa crusted quiche. It was filled with 10 egg whites, roasted red bell peppers, scallions, cilantro, and jalapeño cheese. The quiche was tasty. It was perfect on a frozen morning. As a treat, I made some blueberry, banana, yogurt and cream cheese filled sweet pockets. Yum!

Creative Work for a New York Times Bestselling Author

Tonight I finished up some photo work for Anne Hillerman. I just emailed off the final shots. I was honored when the award-winning reporter and New York Times bestselling author asked me to take new author photos of her. I prepared the photos for release to HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world’s largest publishing companies. HarperCollins is one of the “big five” leading book publishers. It is an honor to be asked to do creative work for the accomplished daughter of New York Times bestselling author, Tony Hillerman.

Anne Hillerman’s newest book is set for release through HarperCollins in May of 2015, and is titled Rock with Wings. I’m sure the new mystery will feature Shiprock, a natural formation on the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico. In Navajo, Tsé Bitʼaʼí means “rock with wings” or “winged rock.”

Random Thoughts & the Labor Day Weekend Motorcycle Ride

~Valles Caldera National Preserve~

~Cheryl and Felicia~

Yesterday we went on a Labor Day Weekend motorcycle ride with Bobby, Cheryl, Joe and Kim. We rode up to Pojoaque, Los Alamos, through the Valles Caldera National Preserve, up to the Jemez Springs and then down through Bandalier National Monument and White Rock. The waterfall up in Jemez is beautiful.

~Battleship Rock, the river and am I really this short?~

When you are on a motorcycle, you literally have hours to look around and think. There is no music, just wind. These were some of the really random thoughts which popped into my head on the trip. They are sort of in the order I remember.

• It’s hard to suck a blow pop in the wind.

• Where the fuck did my gum go?

• I need to buy the new 300 movie.

• I should have a helmet on.

• I love clouds.

• My home town is changing (Pojo).

• I miss being a little girl.

• I wonder if D is doing ok?

• The road to LA is kinda creepy.

• A “place where discoveries are made!”

• I want to buy 300 on the way back.

• Aspen trees are lovely.

• So many straight trees and then the random anomaly. Hey! That’s like me! I am a crooked tree. Beautifully twisted.

• The forest…much different than the ocean.

• Why are the technical areas of the laboratory so spread out?

• What if I had stayed working at LANL? I wouldn’t know the people I know today.

• Maybe I should work here again?

• I wonder what top secret projects are in the works here now?

• Themistocles♥

• I can’t wait to deadlift tomorrow!

• New Mexico is so beautiful.

• I’m proud to be a New Mexican.

• My ass hurts.

• My ass really hurts.

• Time to meet my mom for coffee!

Random thoughts indeed. Maybe I’m strange, but that is an inside look at my strange mind if so. It was a nice day. My hair got really  trashed out and I am sun burned to the max! Looked like hell in these pics!

~Valle Grande Historic Marker and Mike~

~Valle Grande elk viewing, a view through the wheel, and the waterfall in Jemez~

The Gateway

If I could only reach the gateway. ~F

~The Gateway (clouds over Santa Fe on 8.20.2014) by Felicia Lujan~

Beautiful New Mexico

~~“Beautiful New Mexico”
by Felicia Lujan~~

Fall Away

~Digital composite by Felicia. Includes a photograph I took when I went running last week of a rose bush growing near my work.~
*****
“Fall away quietly,
like each petal
disappearing into
her winter abyss.”
*****
~Felicia
8.3.2014

Tree of Dreams

~★~
On each leaf…through 10,000 lifetimes and thousands of worlds, she searched for his face~ scouring every branch on the tree of dreams.
~★~
by Felicia Lujan
7.19.2014

Pagosa Springs: Day 2

A Peaceful New Mexico Oasis

I need to take a tent and camp out in the yard of my childhood home. There is nothing like home. When I was young, my friends and I would camp out there and have a blast laughing all night long. I miss those days. My mom’s yard felt like the most peaceful place in the world on Saturday. The sound of a waterfall is soothing and her flowers are as beautiful as ever this year. She has done such a great job!

See my post titled The Origins of Creativity: The Secret Life of Gloria to learn more about my lovely mommy.

Gypsy Festival in Madrid

Some of the gals and I spent the afternoon gypsy watching in Madrid. There was an interesting little festival in the bustling village you get to via the Turquoise Trail. The historic village of Madrid sits in the Ortiz Mountains and has deep roots in coal mining.

I got a henna tattoo on my front delt that didn’t take because I’m to dark. I bought a California white sage smudge stick, had a very interesting tarot card reading, and then made a wish at the wishing well. I met a beautiful belly dancer and photographed others. One demonstrated how she used her “wings.”

We had a really good time before Brit and I got busted and landed up in the Madrid jail!! Buahahaaaa

Wishless: Death of the Dandelion

…
“The death of the Dandelion is a
loss like no other. Wishes expelled
by lusty breath and stagnant wind.
Wishless I shall remain while
mourning the precious illusion
of nothingness.”
…
~~~Photograph and free verse
~~~by Felicia Lujan
~~~5.28.2014